Four Uncles ABR-1 bridge just in and...

[CK6]

But what about changing new strings still the same gauge and intonation? Wouldn't lock tight keep me from intonation? Or are you talking about every string change?

I use the same guage all the time so set & forget - it’s easy to undo it if you want to readjust.

 

[CK6]

I'm sorry for the questions my man all I've ever played with a Gibson les paul is the Callaham bridge,Faber bridge and stock with no rattles or buzzes. I'm just disappointed that this expensive four uncles abr-1 bridge is not giving me the satisfaction due to it ugly rattling

No worries!

I just got a 2024 Murphy Lab 59 & decided to keep the new ABR1 that they deigned instead of using the 4 uncles bridge. I think products like Royal Mount & 4 Uncles bridges are best for the older R9s and historical. The 2024 Gibsons are spot on!


Good luck with the rattling!

 

[Evol]

No worries!

I just got a 2024 Murphy Lab 59 & decided to keep the new ABR1 that they deigned instead of using the 4 uncles bridge. I think products like Royal Mount & 4 Uncles bridges are best for the older R9s and historical. The 2024 Gibsons are spot on!


Good luck with the rattling!

Royal Mount does not produce ABR-1 bridges but only makes NOS soft brass thumbwheels and posts kits using the same material as the 1950s. FU also makes thumbwheels and posts in soft brass but in my opinion they are completely less accurate both in terms of aesthetics and material.

 

[CK6]

Royal Mount does not produce ABR-1 bridges but only makes NOS soft brass thumbwheels and posts kits using the same material as the 1950s. FU also makes thumbwheels and posts in soft brass but in my opinion they are completely less accurate both in terms of aesthetics and material.

I know, I have four Royal mount post and the wheels. What I mean is that all of these replica replacement parts are less relevant today with the new 2024 Murphy Lab Les Paul models.

 

[Evol]

Certainly compared to the past when on the Historic you found steel posts and thumbwheels on the new Custom Shop M.Lab (and on the standard production?) you find more accurate hardware. But if you want a significant upgrade either you buy vintage hardware (a 1950s ABR-1 is now well over 1000 USD) or you look for other manufacturers that offer quality hardware (Gibson M.Lab has the ABR-1 still with sharpies saddles and not with block saddles like the originals). I would like to try Cooper's ABR-1 for example and will do so soon. Royal Mount on the other hand has the NOS soft brass and in my opinion it is more musical than the Gibson one and for the relatively low price it is an excellent purchase. Consider that I also have a set of Pigtail stopbar studs that I run on all my guitars because I think they are truly superior to any replica.

 

[CK6]

Certainly compared to the past when on the Historic you found steel posts and thumbwheels on the new Custom Shop M.Lab (and on the standard production?) you find more accurate hardware. But if you want a significant upgrade either you buy vintage hardware (a 1950s ABR-1 is now well over 1000 USD) or you look for other manufacturers that offer quality hardware (Gibson M.Lab has the ABR-1 still with sharpies saddles and not with block saddles like the originals). I would like to try Cooper's ABR-1 for example and will do so soon. Royal Mount on the other hand has the NOS soft brass and in my opinion it is more musical than the Gibson one and for the relatively low price it is an excellent purchase. Consider that I also have a set of Pigtail stopbar studs that I run on all my guitars because I think they are truly superior to any replica.

The new Murphy Lab (2024) does not have sharp saddles, the older ones do.

 

[Jimi's LP]

I just put one on mine and 100% agree it’s night and day vs Gibson’s ABR-1. The original ABR-1 chokes. Granted I changed the thumbwheels to brass as well during the change? But 100% tone is clearer, warmer and louder

My man, did you get any rattling or buzz on the bridge saddles? Cuz I have it on my R9 and the instructions says that you will receive buzz but that it will go away after it sets in. Did this happened to you with the four uncles bridge?

 

[Evol]

My man, did you get any rattling or buzz on the bridge saddles? Cuz I have it on my R9 and the instructions says that you will receive buzz but that it will go away after it sets in. Did this happened to you with the four uncles bridge?

As I told you in my other answer, the FU bridge is made of sand casting so I believe that the "buzz" is caused by surfaces that are not perfectly flat which cause the saddles to vibrate. Zamack is a soft material so the saddles will stabilize with the pressure of the strings. This should not be normal, especially on about 500 USD of bridge.

 

[charliechitlins]

Yes...Zamack is soft...better known as pot metal.
It's what the cheapest of cheap castings are made of.
A pot metal casting on my son's kick drum pedal snapped just this week.
You cant even get it hot enough to braze if you want to repair it...it melts into a puddle.
Aftermerket side-view mirrors and hood ornaments are/were pot metal.l
If you like to screw your tailpiece right to the body, a zamack bridge is likely to sag in the middle..
Inthe 70s we were so glad when the aftermarket started making replacements for those pieces of crap.

 

[jb_abides]

Yes...Zamack is soft...better known as pot metal.

ZAMACK: 'Zink, Magnesium, Aluminium, and Kupfer' ... Another fine product of The Weimar Republic!

 

[Jimi's LP]

I installed two of them last week and they are killer! Reed-sounding and lots of harmonics. Huge improvement over the stock bridge and helped balance out the instrument.

Brass thumbwheels and vintage-wire Wizz pickups, paired with the Four Uncles bridge sounds amazing!

View attachment 16400
View attachment 16401

Nice guitar my man. Did you put locktite on that bridge?

 

[Evol]

Yes...Zamack is soft...better known as pot metal.
It's what the cheapest of cheap castings are made of.
A pot metal casting on my son's kick drum pedal snapped just this week.
You cant even get it hot enough to braze if you want to repair it...it melts into a puddle.
Aftermerket side-view mirrors and hood ornaments are/were pot metal.l
If you like to screw your tailpiece right to the body, a zamack bridge is likely to sag in the middle..
Inthe 70s we were so glad when the aftermarket started making replacements for those pieces of crap.

It is indeed a "scarce" metal but on the original Burst the ABR-1s are made of a Zamack alloy and the combination of hardware (soft brass for thumbwheels and posts, aluminum for the stoptail and steel for its pins while zamack for the bridge and soft brass for the seats) give "the sound". To say that Callaham bridges made entirely of CNC steel are superior on a technological level but very far from the "vintage" sound that we like. In the '80s it's true that a lot of hardware moved towards brass and other materials but the sound changes and there's little you can do about it. However, to avoid collapsing an ABR-1, just put the strings wraparound or not screw the stoptail pins completely to reduce the pressure of the strings on the bridge.

 

[Evol]

ZAMACK: 'Zink, Magnesium, Aluminium, and Kupfer' ... Another fine product of The Weimar Republic!

yet it revolutionized the world of mechanics

 

[jb_abides]

yet it revolutionized the world of mechanics

It did indeed. The proper alloy for the proper application.

 

[CK6]

Nice guitar my man. Did you put locktite on that bridge?

Thanks! I have since sold this guitar. And yes, I think I did have Loctite on this bridge at the beginning.

I have just installed the same bridge on my new 2024 Murphy Lab ‘59 to give it a try & no loctite needed.

 

[Evol]

Thanks! I have since sold this guitar. And yes, I think I did have Loctite on this bridge at the beginning.

I have just installed the same bridge on my new 2024 Murphy Lab ‘59 to give it a try & no loctite needed.

But did you use locktite to lock the saddles? A friend of mine has an old ABR-1 DMC: very nice but the saddles fall off.

 

[CK6]

But did you use locktite to lock the saddles? A friend of mine has an old ABR-1 DMC: very nice but the saddles fall off.

I did on the first guitar, but I installed the bridge on another Guitar yesterday and did not. I don’t have any problems with rattling.

To my understanding, original ABR1s have the same issue and it is normal for the saddles to fall off.

 

[Evol]

I did on the first guitar, but I installed the bridge on another Guitar yesterday and did not. I don’t have any problems with rattling.

To my understanding, original ABR1s have the same issue and it is normal for the saddles to fall off.

I confirm. On many original ABR-1s you will find replacement saddles for this very reason

 

[Wizard1183]

My man, did you get any rattling or buzz on the bridge saddles? Cuz I have it on my R9 and the instructions says that you will receive buzz but that it will go away after it sets in. Did this happened to you with the four uncles bridge?

Yes the G string rattled like crazy. Come to find out the frets weren’t even. I thought it was the saddle? I replaced them. After fret level it’s been good to go.

 

[Evol]

Some days ago a friend came to visit me who has a beautiful Burst replica (it has a very C shaped type 58 neck). The guitar has really nice woods and is equipped with a set of Wizz PAFs... All the right things in the right places (glues, finish, etc...). Speaking of bridge, initially his guitar had a Gibson Historic but he wasn't satisfied with the sound. He therefore decided to take an FU given the great feedback he was able to read on-line. Well, you won't believe it but when installing the FU he complained of a "wrong" sound. He didn't have buzz or anything like that he just didn't like how he sounded. He hadn't touched anything other than the bridge and so that had to be it. Together we installed an old wired Gibson ABR-1 patent number, the one with the foundry brand, with a set of new "block style" soft brass saddles taken from an Ebay shop. I can't describe his face to you at the first chord!